X-Message-Number: 6719
Date: 09 Aug 96 03:46:40 EDT
From: Paul Wakfer <>
Subject: Prometheus: Faith or Optimism?

     There have been both complaints and praise about my enthusiastic,
optimistic approach to the Prometheus Project pledge campaign. This is
particularly true about my sig line:

!!!!! REVERSIBLE BRAIN CRYOPRESERVATION *CAN* BE ACHIEVED IN 10 YEARS !!!!!

Anyone who knows me, realizes that as a life long atheist, anarcho-
libertarian, and total believer in the primacy of the scientific method, the
only thing in which I have "faith" is the efficacy of the human mind to
ferret out the workings of reality to a more and more profound level as time
goes on and to harness that knowledge for the enhancement of human life. My
sig line is simply a short way of saying "the science involved is now at the
level where, with a lot of sufficient funding, good planning and hard work by
a lot of serious people, there is a very good chance of achieving reversible
brain cryopreservation in 10 years".

     I also am a fundamental believer in the power of enthusiasm, optimism
and positive thinking to encourage both one's own mind and the minds and
hearts of others to contribute help and money to the solution of the problems
which reality imposes on mankind. In addition, as one who sees no necessary
dichotomy between the rational and the emotional, I don't believe that there
is anything "wrong" with appealing to the emotions of people. Anyone who
thinks this, is, I believe, insulting all people (and certainly all current
pledgers) by implying that they have been, or will let themselves be ruled by
their emotions and *not* by their rational thinking. This, I reject as being
even meaningful for most of those on this forum.

     It is a truism of human nature that everyone always thinks that "the
other person" is "not rational", "ruled by emotions", "will get sucked in",
"needs to be warned about the pitfalls", etc. etc., while he, himself, is
completely immune to all these things. When, in fact, it may well be that
"the other person" has simply recognized a truth which has escaped or is
being evaded by, for whatever reasons, the one who thinks that he is being so
wise and intelligent, but is, in fact, being pontifical and presumptuous.


-- Paul --

!!!!! REVERSIBLE BRAIN CRYOPRESERVATION *CAN* BE ACHIEVED IN 10 YEARS !!!!!

Paul Wakfer  email:        Voice/Fax:     Pager:
US:     1220 E Washington St #24, Colton, CA 92324 909-481-4433 800-805-2870
Canada: 238 Davenport Rd #240, Toronto, ON M5R 1J6 416-968-6291 416-446-9461
(Currently in California)


Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=6719